Split cooler for a steel mill

ABSTRACT

A cooler that is easily dis-assembled is disclosed here. The cooler has two halves which co-operate together to form a cooling passage way to cool a steel work product as it passes through the cooler. A pair of tubular half sections are fastened to each half section to expose the passage way when the two halves are separated. A steel work product normally passes through this passage way. 
     If the steel work product should break during a rolling process then the cooler is removed and opened for inspection. 
     If a piece of the steel work product is present in the exposed passage way it is easily removable and the cooler is reassembled and the rolling process begins

This invention describes an improvement made to U.S. Pat. No. 7,257,976.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to steelmaking techniques by rolling the hot work product into a bar or wire and using a cooler between the various rolling stages. Basically the improvement resides in using a split cooler which may be easily taken apart when the hot work product breaks while being manufactured. The hot work product produces “cobbles” which generally are hot pieces of the metal and these pieces may be found in each cooler when such breakage of the hot work product occurs.

The occurrence of such an event causes a rather large time delay in the production of steel in the rolling process and it is here that the present invention makes its presence felt. The split cooler of this invention may be taken apart quite easily so that any foreign debris may be removed quickly and the cooling device re-assembled so that the steel mill is working again in a much shorter time than with the prior art cooling models.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Two substantially hollow shells are clamped together above a suitable water header by a suitable clamping device. Four split tubular coolers are mounted in a suitable fashion in the shells of the device. A coolant substance (usually water) is introduced into the cooler device from a water supply from below the device. Water is allowed to enter the two half shells from below and the water is fed to a number of plenums which extend around the split tubes and from these plenums coolant water flows through the cooling apertures in the split tubes where it impinges on the hot steel workpiece and then escapes from the cooler device through especially designed escape routes. These escape routes include, exits in the shells shown at the ends of the split cooling tubes (located at the middle of the shells) and at each end of the split tube where the hot workpiece enters and leaves the cooler.

When a breakage occurs in the hot metal product (which is undergoing reduction) it is a relatively straightforward procedure to unclamp this cooler containing hot metal product (as well as any other coolers containing the hot metal product being rolled) from the water trunk line, and remove the hot metal product therefrom.

Re-assembly occurs and the line of coolers is soon ready to receive the hot steel product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a split cooler of applicant's invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective drawing showing applicant's device in a steel mill.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the applicant's device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cooling device of this invention. Here a steel work product cooler 10 is shown. Cooler 10 is comprised of two substantially hollow shells 12 and 14. Steel work product enters the cooler 10 via aperture 16 and leaves by aperture 18.

Reference may now be had to exploded view FIG. 2. Each shell captivates two half tubular members in place, shell 12 holding split tubular members 20 and 22 in place, and shell 14 holding split tubular members 24 and 26 in place. Shells 12 and 14 are essentially hollow having water inlets at pipes 28 and 30. The cooling water circulates in each of the shells 12 and 14 until it is a passed through cooling apertures 32 to 46 onto the moving work product (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2). As the cooling water impinges upon the moving steel work product it cools it. The half tubes 20-26 are sealed in their respective shells 12 and 14 so that the cooling water is only allowed to escape only where the hot steel strand 76 (work product) enters or leaves the half tubes 20-26 sealed in the shells 12 and 14, or at the apertures 48 and 50 of the shell 14.

Shells 14 and 16 are held together by suitable clamping means (not shown) and half tubes 20-26 are suitably located and held in place by bolts 52-70.

A pair of dowels 72 and 74 are shown in FIG. 2 and serve to locate the shells 12 and 14 in their proper working relationship before being clamped together.

The cooler 10 functions as follows. A work product 76 is threaded into the steel reducing mill which includes passage through coolers such as the cooler shown as 10 in FIG. 1. Because the diameter of the work product is almost the same as the apertures 16 and 18 in the cooler 10 as shown in FIG. 1 it is easier to thread the work product 76 through the mill with the coolers intact.

The coolers such as the one shown in FIG. 1 are thus clamped to a suitable water header (below) which supplies coolant (usually water) to the coolers (above). The coolers such as cooler 10 are clamped to the header (not shown) by some method so that the coolers such as cooler 10 are arranged to be fed with cooling water through the tubes 28 and 30.

Work product 76 is threaded through the system which includes the cooling system comprising coolers such as cooler 10 and the cooling water is running with water cooling the work product 76 at each cooler located thereat. All is well until a workpiece 76 strand breaks and a broken part of the work product remains in a cooler. With prior art models the broken work product has to be pushed out of the cooling chamber so that the cooler 10 is ready for a new workpiece 76 to be inserted therein.

With this invention, the cooling water is turned off, the clamp is released and the cooler is removed from the header. The shells 14 and 16 are separated and the split tubes 24 and 26 remain with the half shell 14 while split tubes 20 and 22 remain with half shell such as 12. Now all that is left for the operator to do is to pick out the broken piece of the work product 76 that was previously passing through and re-assemble the cooler and clamp it in place on the header.

The system may be restarted with the work product 76 passing through the mill components as previously.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind of one skilled in the art, having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing description and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that the modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the dependent claims. 

1. A cooler for a steel mill in which substantially similar hollow shells are clamped together to which are secured sections of cooling tubes for the passage of cooling water there through, where said cooling water impinges on a work product passing through said tube sections and which is cooled by the exiting of cooling water passed through said cooling tube sections, said cooler being dismantable so that said cooling tube sections become accessible in said dismantled cooler so that clearing of the passageway said tube sections is facilitated.
 2. A cooler as claimed in claim 1 wherein there are two shells in said cooler.
 3. A cooler as claimed in claim 2 wherein said tube sections have a number of slanted openings therein to permit cooling water to exit upon said work product.
 4. A cooler housing a tubular enclosure extending the length of said cooler, said tubular enclosure having an interior and an exterior and comprising at least two parts, said tubular enclosure being separable along its length into two half tubes so that the interior of said tubular enclosure may be exposed when said tubular enclosure is dismantled, each half of said tubular enclosure having a plurality of slots formed therein, and a source of coolant supplied to the exterior of said tubular enclosure for passage through said slots, and said cooler is supplied with suitable container means for housing said tubular enclosure.
 5. A cooler as claimed in claim 4 wherein said tubular enclosure has an entrance end and an exit end for the passage of a hot steel work product there through.
 6. A cooler as claimed in claim 4 in which the slots in the parts of the tubular enclosure are slanted with respect to the longitudinal axis of said tubular enclosure.
 7. A cooler as claimed in claim 4 wherein said container comprises two parts and said tubular enclosure is mounted in and supported by said container.
 8. A cooler to be used in a metal reducing steel mill comprising a container being constructed of at least two parts, a tubular enclosure separably joined along the longitudinal axis, mounted in said container parts, said tubular enclosure having entrance and an exit apertures which coincide with openings formed in said container, and slots being formed in said tubular enclosure, said slots being skewed with the longitudinal axis of said tubular enclosure, and, coolant being circulated in the space existing between said container and said tubular enclosure, said coolant passing through said slots of said tubular enclosure, 